soundoff(148 Responses)

Fish

I once listened to Ms. Cupp but now find she is but another revolting right whack job!!! If she think Cruz is a hero she must want a posthumous Medal of honor for Benedict Arnold, get a grip lady your ego is overshadowing you intellect!!!

I look at the tea party as a modern day slave owner core. How in the hell can you have such hateful people displayed all over tv asking the first minority president to come out with his hands up. This is a racist movement in America that is being disguised by allot of angry racists.

Obama winds down two wars, saves the economy from the GOP designed Freefall, and the GOP considers him to be the worst President ever. Ted Cruz talks some smack catering to his wacky base, and is a "Hero".
Is English the first language of the GOP, because I am not sure they have a good grip on the meaning of some words?

Ignorant nutjob alert! If shutting down the government when you are in the minority and going against what the majority of American's makes you a hero then we might as well throw in the towel and close the union.

How's he anyone's hero??? Anyone who's trying to takeaway anyone's health care, I see this as a huge problem in our country. He's thinking about himself and his presidency. He's way ahead of himself and he has no clue who he's even going to be running against, if it's his agenda to even run for the 2016 election. He also has no plan to give the American people of how he's going to provide health care for the American people, but can knock the law that was ruled "Constitutional". Does he think everyone should get free rides?? Everyone needs to be responsible for his or her own health.

For the first time in years, people are not going to be denied health care or have to pay higher premium due to pre-existing conditions. This law is already been helping all children who have pre-existing conditions.

He's clueless not a hero. If he wants to be a hero and thinks Obamacare is going to break our country financially, then he should solve the problem. He has no answers, so he's clueless.

It pains me to write a comment about Cruz because he does not deserve one millisecond of attention. Let him get his attention from the close minded, one-dimensional thinking of the blind to the real world right wing extremists.

Exacerbated by the consistent use of the descriptor “smart” when referencing Cruz from political writers and talking heads.

Here is how the dictionary defines smart...

– very good at learning or thinking about things
– showing intelligence or good judgment

Rhetorical question....but does anyone believe his words, behaviour, tactics or principles remind you as smart.

Please anyone writing/speaking about Cruz STOP using the descriptor of smart beside his name. It is an insult to the true definition of the word. The dictionary is offended.

Who is S. E. Cupp? What are her credentials? Why are we listening to her? If they want to have good conservative input on crossfire, Gingrich the snake oil salesman and this nincompoop are not going to get the job done. They don't want bona fide conservative input. They just want to market Crossfire by sensationalism.

We are all aware that CNN is seeking to stir the pot to gain audience through controvercy. However calling Ted Cruz a "hero" might backfire. This is so upsetting to some they could boycut CNN altogether. This is no way to gain revenue through ads.... "anything to an excess is a fault".

October 12, 2013 at 9:54 pm |

John de Leon

I suspect she is a girlfriend of a high ranking executive in CNN. Maybe she is also sanctioned secretly by the Koch brothers. She has no idea how it is to be so poor. Poor people just pray when they are sick because they have nothing..............nothing. These are the kind of women who gets humbled by contracting a fatal disease. Some who are lucky enough to recover from the disease; eventually writes a book about it. Like......they were spared because they were special. Special than the other seven billion people in the world. No sense listening to a plebeian pretending to be an intellectual.

Agree 100%. Potentially sound exchange is replaced by self promotion especially by Gingrich. Have never seen someone so blind to the truth and spend so much time on self promotion. The scary part is how much time he spends on revising history from his years as such a "productive" member of the legislative process instead of doing his job as moderator of a program.

S.E. Cupp is Sarah Elizabeth Cupp. Not sure why she goes by S.E. She's 34, and heralds from Carlsbad, CA. She has a B.A. from Cornell (low honors) in History Art (not a useful degree for political commentating). In 2010 n 2010, she earned a Master of Arts from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University with a concentration in Religious Studies. She is a self-confessed atheist oddly enough. In September 2012, Cupp became engaged to John Goodwin, former chief of staff to Rep. Raúl Labrador (from Puerto Rico, and a Republican). Cupp and Goodwin met at the 2008 Republican Convention and began dating in 2011. Sarah Cupp describes her affiliation as a Log Cabin Republican (they support the rights of lesbian, gays, bisexuals and transgender groups).

Like an old dilapidated building, our American government needs a demolition crew to go in and just implode the entire thing. The president is a joke. The president before him was a joke. The members of Congress consistently behave like unreasonable, bickering children. The amazing thing though is the public. Democratic citizens blame Republicans. Republican citizens blame Democrats. The vast majority of our American public listen wholeheartedly to mainstream media when the trash pumped out by them should always be taken with a enormous "grain of salt". Both the Democrats and the Republicans are to blame for the mess this country has been in for about the past decade. They say history repeats itself. If that's true, then America will collapse just like a comparative ancient empire known as Rome once did. Our country has had its "time to shine". The "Golden Age" of the United States of America has come and been long gone. People say we deserve to fall...and maybe they're right.

Actually our government is working very well. It was designed to be divided. As long as we are quibbling over no-brainers like whether or not all Americans should have access to competent healthcare, Madison’s “opulent few” are well protected from the masses. More money is shifted to the very wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle classes and that is exactly what is supposed to happen. Otherwise, we might be talking about major revisions to the financial industry that would prevent the mass looting of our economy and economic catastrophe in the future. So yeah – we really need to reform so called “entitlements”….

S E Cupp she is so sensational. She did share some good facts about her party. They are divided and the BIBLE tells us that a house divided can not stand (Satan). S E Cupp spoke it out of her mouth the Republican will fall.

Ted Cruz is an idiot, take our economy to the brink is a very stupid move. But then at this point in time You can line them up, they need to go back to school and lear something. I can put up with a lot, but being stupid is not one of them. Between CrossFire and the Republicans, you rate as stupid as they are people out there. please just shut up. you are so boring.

Cruz wants to be a hero, and he certainly likes attention, but suffers from the delusion that he knows all. That's simply a symptom of ideological youth, and life will burst some of his balloons.. It is hoped the young lady from CNN will also mature in thought, and in vocal tone..

Jr. So brief, so eloquent, so, ummm, minimalist in your narrative. But, let's get t the point here, S.E. Cupp said that Cruz was ahero.

Now we are seeing that the Republicans are seething with extreme anger at this pedant. Cruz is not a hero – he is an embarassment to the cause – a lame one at that.

However, as ever, S.E. Cupp always manages to miscalculate her vocal wave of opinion and ends up looking very unintelligent. She says Cruz is a hero – why? Now, Obamacare is an untouchable bnegotiating lever – so Cupp, where do you stand now? Boehner is a mesiah? Boehner has rescued the party? Bet a $1000 you don;t ever refer to Cruz as a hero!! I dare you – go on, say on record he's your hero. Nahh, didn't expect you to.

Sen Ted Cruz (R) TX is a teaparty extremist who was sent to Washington DC to do exactly what he's doing....so please don't act surprised......therefor reason,common sense and intelligence is not in his DNA...only hate and making sure the country goes broke.....because inside their 1700's bubble.....that's what's real

Did this person cupp go to the same school with Palin? Wow, it really made this person sound ignorant in national TV. No wonder extremists like Cruz, Yoho, Palin, paul and the likes look so cocky, because people like cupp, Gingrich, Limbaugh, beck, and so on keep feeding them cool aide.

The cumulative years of experience of all the politicians in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate is over 4500 years—and they cannot figure a way out of this mess. Put in context, the ancient pyramids of Egypt are not quite that old.

In any other context, a group that tries to bring down our system of government (a government of and for the people), would be called "terrorists" or "enemies of the people". The Tea Party with their GOP backing, who attack us from within, are aiding and abetting the mission of our foreign enemies.

October 10, 2013 at 2:10 pm |

Matt

The truth is starting to come out about the government shutdown. Of course, most of the media won't report on it...

Ted Cruz is going to sink the GOP. Extremist tend bring about extreme outcomes, and Cruz's tenure will be a short one. The GOP will use him, then sell him out when the deal is struck. The longer this goes, the worse it is for Cruz.

S.E. Cupp is best ignored. Not entirely certainly why CNN or FOX would recruit this talking head. This person is biased, hardly impresses me with her oftentimes poorly structured sentences, and should be consigned to writing print articles, and not appearing in front of the camera – unless of course it's because she's pretty. That would be a sexist recruitment strategy by CNN. I am sure CNN recruited her purely for a false sense of her credentials.

Ram Riva are you surprise that FOX employees they represent the radical Tea Party. If they do not they will be without out a job. The owner of FOX he is a billionaire immigrant from Australia an he represent 2% of our population.

I agree with what people are saying about Cruz. Self-serving show boater. But in the long run all this PR he is getting may help people see the tea party for what it really is. Nihilisitic anarchist who have not a clue how a democratic representative government is suppose to work.

It's funny to see how scared liberals are of the Tea Party. They can't defend their positions, so they have to resort to name calling. I'm not a Tea Party member, but I can identify with a lot of their values and I can tell you one they're not... a bunch of anarchists that want to overthrow the government. If you want to see someone that doesn't know how democracy is supposed to work, look no further than Barack Obama. He would be much more comfortable in a dictatorship where he didn't require any support from the opposing party to force his will on the people.

matt, it's amazingly shinning in here, how your ignorant radiate beyond the brightness of the sun. the tea party is a disguised for democracy and hiding behind a bible spiting hatred about a black man living in the white house because he's not there as a servant. the tea party is the epitome of racial tension. not only have they perverted the union jack but they have perverted the republican party. only those willing to turn a blind eye wouldn't see all these things and you're a prime example of those people.

you blame the democrat for this shut down? realistically it's the republicans and their amendment to a clean bill that is preventing the government from opening. yet you have the audacity to blame the democrat, sometimes i really wonder what planet are you guys from. truly jesus christ healed the sick, fed the poor, and spoke of heaven those willing to do gods work by giving all their riches to help the poor. did you missed that in sunday school? or did you just grab what is necessary to your belief and values from the bible while perverting it like muslim does to the koran?

October 8, 2013 at 7:04 pm |

Greg

As a moderate in Texas, I can tell you that Ted Cruz is not representing his people. He is a bought politician (like most of them) and is pushing the tea party agenda because the Koch Brothers want him to. People need to realize that the Democrats are too far left, the Republicans are too far right, and the Tea Party representatives are just extremists that were put into power by Koch Industries and Phillip Morris....done by funding their little political organizations that funnel money to these new "Republican" politicians that are really just puppets for a few huge corporations, despite the appearance of local "grass roots" tea party activists. What we need are more moderate Republicans like John McCain and blue dog Democrats that know how to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Unfortunately, most of the politicians we need haven't been in congress since the 90's.....back when we actually had a balanced budget.

October 9, 2013 at 12:38 am |

JJ Foley

Gee just wondering how ACA passed through two houses of Congress and survived a Supreme Court challenge? Is everyone in Congress and the Supreme Court supporting the "dictator?"

Yet you think you have a clue-

October 9, 2013 at 9:47 am |

Amjo

Sorry darling, libs are hardly afraid of the tea party. We don't like anarchists and obstructionists. I know you would like to fantasize that we are afraid of nut cases...but fail on your part

October 9, 2013 at 10:17 am |

Waitaminute

Ted Cruz is the defacto Senate minority leader. Finally a politician that does not drink Washington lemonade. we've been waiting a long time for someone like him. The acidic name calling by the left confirms to me that Ted Cruz is good for America.

Ted Cruz is a fraud. Ted Cruz was born in Canada. Ted Cruz may have the Tea Party behind him but, he will never win a National election. He is not even a Texan. Go home to Canada and run for office there. Canada and most of the civilized Nations all have Universal h

If Cruz was Canadian born, he will have his citizenship stripped. Canada won't put up with economic terrorist like Cruz.

No way !!!

October 10, 2013 at 12:22 am |

Joebus

Well, I know that when things come down to the wire that I should not listen to Cupp. Ted Cruz is not hero; he is a blowhard looking for a ride to the presidential race. Showboating is his game and he needs to develop into an adult. Yes, I know that I am a stinky, commie, pinko liberal; however, I do differ from most conservatives and progressives on a few points. Most importantly, I do listen to both sides. If one of the parties does propose a sound idea, it should be taken into account. I have not seen anything arise out of the republican party except derision and anecdotal evidence. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and it is time for the republicans to stop stamping their feet and asking for more candy. Get over yourselves, republicans!
(BTW, Cupp, on Real Time, you really need to try a different tactic, instead of trying to be the loudest person in the room.)

That's unfortunate. I generally enjoy listening to S.E.'s arguments. While I don't generally agree with her, rather than crazy absurdities falling out of her mouth a la Bachman or Palin, she usually makes passionate thought provoking arguments. But..she's apparently just fallen off the crazy train.

Passionate and articulate? S.E. Cupp is likely being paid or receiving persuasive advice to air her views as she does. I don't take any value in anything this person says. Why CNN has recruited her is bemusing.

Why the double standard? Wendy Davis did the same thing Cruz did in the Texas legislature a few months ago to try to block an abortion bill and liberals praised her as a hero. Yet Cruz is a terrorist, anarchist, and gets compared to Hitler and Stalin? Makes no sense at all... both were standing up for what they believe in, although neither had a chance of winning their arguments. What Cruz and Davis did is what democracy is all about, although labeling either of them heroes might be a bit of a stretch.

Because Wendy Davis' actions actually had a chance to have results, and did – the law didn't pass in that session. It did when Perry called a special session after that, but the fact is her filibuster prevented the law from passing in the regular session. Cruz's did not have any chance to do anything of the sort, he knew it, everyone else knew it. He did it just to be able to say he did, not because he actually thought it would do anything.

Ted Cruz is fulfilling promises he made to his constituents and standing up for what he believes in. This country hasn't seen this kind of integrity in the last 5 years, and doesn't know what to do with it. The dangerous one is Obama.

I think that is why all the hate is coming out, to be honest. I'm not a ultra conservative, and in many ways I'm liberal, but it is refreshing to see people actually listening to their constituents when they know that they will be chastised for it.
That said, both sides are acting like children, demanding the other side is to blame.

I think there were far better strategies that couldve been used by both sides to avoid this shutdown. This all seems kind of rushed to me. There should have been more discussion and less fighting. There needs to be voting committees that represent the rest of their party when a tough decision can't be made. This childish behavior by our elected representatives on both sides is disgusting. Rather than thinking what's best for the United States of America every representative is thinking what's best to get me re-elected. At some point the sides have to look at each other and realize that in this day and age we are all American and our political ties should not cloud our common sense and judgement. There are concessions to be made on each side of the aisle, I just think it's ridiculous that the highest governing body in our land has to shut down and services have to stopped for any real work to get done in Washington. Is there are way to recall every elected official in Washington at the same time? Obama included...

The Affordable Care Act was the brainchild of the Heritage Foundation. It was approved by both houses of Congress. It has been upheld by the Supreme Court. And in the 2012 presidential election Its candidate won hands down. What is it about democracy that so offends Ted Cruz?

In that same 2012 election you refer to, the American people elected a Republican House majority, many of whom ran on a platform of repealing and replacing Obamacare with better laws. The Republicans are doing exactly what their constituents sent them to Congress to do. At least they are willing to negotiate from their extreme positions, which is the way democracy should work. Obama and Reid are not.

Don't forget the people of Mass. spoke and elected a Republican senator to block the passage of Obamacare, but Reid, Pelosi, and Obama used parliamentary tricks to jam it down our throats anyway in the cloak of darkness. So this whole argument that the people have spoken and given Obama a mandate to do whatever he wants with no input from the other side of the debate is total BS!

Gerrymandering elected a House majority. Not the American people. Look up the percentages the GOP got in terms of vote count – they got trounced. The 2010 redistricting efforts on the part of the GOP were brilliant on their part, as its made it very, very difficult to uproot incumbents.

October 4, 2013 at 11:52 am |

21st Century Patriot

No, Matt, Scott Brown was elected because democrats got complacent about the seat vacated by Ted and didn't show up at the polls. At the very next chance, we threw Scott out in favor of Elizabeth Warren, who is an ardent supporter of the ACA. We here in MA have had our own Obamacare solution in place for awhile now, and it never even comes up as a source of controversy.

October 10, 2013 at 2:27 pm |

Lily

I agree 100%! The Republicans keep saying no one wants Obamacare, yet millions are trying to get on the sites. Most states are so over whelmed the sites are crashing. I can not get healthcare any other way. My husband and I both have pre-existing conditions. Since we are the only civilized country(I know of) without a national healthcare, then we need Obama care.

Nice comment, and I agree. What offends Ted Cruz about democracy is the fear that the democratic process could easily remove him from power by "we the people....." Democracy is counter to absolute power. And, the GOP want absolute power despite the loud and clear messages from the previous election outcomes.

Cruz's game is as a rabid junk yard dog preaching sedition to a pack of snarling haters. S. E. Cupp's game is to pretend to speak for an ever smaller audience of moderate Republicans while shilling for Cruz's pack of snarling haters.

SO TIRED of everything being the Republicans fault!! Democrats and their Media cronnies need to seriously look in the mirror & STOP the blame game! I get so tired of hearing it!! The reason for this shutdown is OBAMA himself. He is so bent on "MY WAY OR NO WAY!" ANY leader who is HELL BENT on having his way (not the peoples way) is a DICTATOR! His refusal to negotiate anything is the primary reason for this shutdown! But hey, lets blame the Republicans again....just like always. Same song & dance acting like children not getting their way. Plus, poor ignorant Americans are blindly flocking to believe the lying words coming out of Obama's mouth. Do the RESEARCH people and read the history of this so called "Leader" you follow so blindly. Stalin, Hitler and more recently Castro & Hussein would be so proud of how he is leading this country! I know religious extremists bent on terrorizing America are probably giddy right now and don't need to lift a finger. We'll be destroyed from the inside! Listen, I have to have money before I spend it. But hey, "I'm the prez, let's just print some more & raise the debt ceiling while I take my family on a luxurious vacation." DUH! WHEN (not IF) we do default, it will only be worse if we continue this downward spiral of financial stupidity. Wonder if the next Pres will still blame the CURRENT situation on Bush & the Republicans? Sheesh! Can you 51% actually say your life has improved since the "money spending, debt ceiling raiser, let's spend some more" Obama entered office? WHERE do you think this money comes from?? TREES? Evidently, some of you do. Granted, the paper it's printed on does. I'd like to see Democrats compromise on a few things for a change and ask their constituents how they feel about some of THEIR spending practices. Do you folks actually think ALL spending is done by just the Republicans? In fact, I'd like to see ALL policy makers (yes, incl. Republicans) paychecks dependent on an annual review by their constituents based on their ability to set goals and actually get work accomplished. Oh, and let's limit their salaries, no raises, cut benefits, abolish other perks and REQUIRE them to use OBAMACARE too! Bet some things would change in a heartbeat!

That's because it IS the republicans' fault! The democrats accepted their bare bones budget, but the republicans keep asking for more and more. They will not be happy until we are a true banana republic.

Even sadder that people as delusional as Karen can vote. Instead of voters being required to show ID, I wish the GOP would push for requirement for voters to prove a connection to reality.

October 10, 2013 at 2:31 pm |

Realistic

Perhaps the Republicans are being blamed for the shut down because of their unbending, my-beliefs-are-more-important-then-yours attitudes. After all, it is Republicans that are trying to take away the woman's right to choose, it is the Republicans who are trying to deny the LGBT community the right to marry, it is the Republicans who are fighting any elimination of tax exemptions for the wealthy. These are just a few examples of why the Republicans are being blamed but there are many more. As for the Affordable Care Act, yes, it has things that need to be revised but nothing is perfect right out of the gate. Instead of trying to eliminate it all together, why not make adjustments to improve it. This cookie cutter response of "health care was working fine before you messed with it" is pure bull. The big insurance companies were being allowed to dictate who could and could not receive insurance based on opinions of people who most likely had no medical background, the insurance companies were dictating what kind of medical care or testing a person could receive, not the Doctors. As for the complaints of "My taxes should go towards buying insurance for someone else". What do think is paying the medical bills of the UNINSURED now? When the Republicans can come up with a rational reason for defunding the ACA other than, "what we have works fine" and offers a viable replacement, I'll believe they are working for the people and not the money men

Perhaps the Republicans are being blamed for the shut down because of their unbending, my-beliefs-are-more-important-then-yours attitudes. After all, it is Republicans that are trying to take away the woman's right to choose, it is the Republicans who are trying to deny the LGBT community the right to marry, it is the Republicans who are fighting any elimination of tax exemptions for the wealthy. These are just a few examples of why the Republicans are being blamed but there are many more. As for the Affordable Care Act, yes, it has things that need to be revised but nothing is perfect right out of the gate. Instead of trying to eliminate it all together, why not make adjustments to improve it. This cookie cutter response of "health care was working fine before you messed with it" is pure bull. The big insurance companies were being allowed to dictate who could and could not receive insurance based on opinions of people who most likely had no medical background, the insurance companies were dictating what kind of medical care or testing a person could receive, not the Doctors. As for the complaints of "My taxes should not go towards buying insurance for someone else". What do think is paying the medical bills of the UNINSURED now? When the Republicans can come up with a rational reason for defunding the ACA other than, "what we have works fine" and offers a viable replacement, I'll believe they are working for the people and not the money men

S.E. Cupp et al – Ted Cruz is NOT a hero. Hero's save their fellow countrymen from harm. Hero's do their best to help the less fortunate. Hero's sacrifice their well being for the benefit of others. Ted Cruz and all the Tea Partying GOP are absolutely NOT heroes. They are serving the desires of the few whose wealth can buy their voice. In today's world MSNBC and CNN are my heroes. Why? Because they work hard to keep you and the rest of the Fox puppets in check with truth and facts vs the total lies and slander expounded 24×7 at Fox. Statements like "Ted Cruz is a hero". What TOTAL NONSENSE!!!

It is not heroic by any means of the imagination to deny 30 million American citizens from access to health care.
It is not heroic to fight for bringing back the pre-existing conditions exclusion.
It is not heroic to fight to bring back lifetime medical limits.
It is not heroic to hold the full faith and credit of the American people hostage.

TEA Party = Taliban-Extremist-American Party... let's call them as they are... extremists who are undermining our democracy... if you don't .like a law or a politician you take it to the ballot box not to take hostage the government by shutting it down... TEA = Taliban-Extremist-American -

Who has America held hostage right now? The House has passed bipartisan spending bills with Democrat support to get the VA, Parks, and DC government back running again, but Reid won't consider the bills and Obama has already threatened veto. Reid and Obama want to inflict maximum pain on the American people to make their point and get Republicans to cave to all their demands. How soon we forget that the way Congress is supposed to work is passing individual budgets for each department. These giant spending bills to fund the entire federal government aren't the way it's supposed to work. Reid needs to do his job. Bring these House bills to the floor for an up-or-down vote.

October 4, 2013 at 10:59 am |

Matt

I believe you are mistaken. Obama and Reid are the ones promoting fear and division, calling politicians they disagree with terrorists and anarchists or likening the debate to having guns held to their heads. How can one negotiate with people using such hateful rhetoric to poison the debate? Both parties need to quit playing it up for the cameras and go behind closed doors and negotiate a settlement. Debating it in the media is bad for everyone.

I think you have to be rational. When the teapary madhatters say that Obamacare/ACA is worse than the runaway slave laws, that's hysterical. When Democerats say shutting down the government to roll back a 3 year old law that is already in effect and saving lives is irresponsible, it is true. You might want to paint all of the claims with the same broad brush of hyperbole, but that don't make it true. You see - there are things that are true and things that are false. If you don't know the diffrerence, you get the answer wrong.

October 4, 2013 at 1:23 pm |

Matt

I believe it was one congressman that made the slave statement, so it's quite a stretch to attribute that to the Tea Party as a whole. He shouldn't have made that statement, just as Reid and Obama shouldn't be using such hateful rhetoric on their side. If you look at what's going on in Congress right now, I think you'll see it's the Democrats that refuse to let the government open back up in an orderly fashion. All they have to do is pass the House spending bills one by one. It doesn't matter that Obamacare was passed 3 years ago. It was purposely engineered to start effect after the 2012 elections, so I would consider it wholly appropriate to debate it's merits in the current budget bill.

October 4, 2013 at 2:18 pm |

James

It's not a stretch at all. Outrageously false claims and rumors are part and parcel to every "teaparty" stand with no regard for truth or fact. Claims of death panels, premiums going up, massive job losses, threats to succeed from the union, default on the debt and so forth defy any critical analysis and yet they persist. They make irresponsible biased claims that can literally result in the death of 50,000 Americans a year while they claim to be "pro-life" and they never admit they are wrong.

And, I am and have been looking at what is "going on" in congress right now. The House has a budget bill sitting– it has exactly what more rational Republicans asked for in spending levels so there was never a reason to negotiate anything.

Engineered? You mean like genetic engineering? You use that word to imply some sinister plan is at work behind the scenes while preserving plausible deniability if you are called on it? ACA was designed to be phased in over time and it began in 2010. This is the information age. You don't have to take anyone's word for anything. You can look it up.

The mad hatters’ “teaparty” is hurting a lot of people right now because their "mentors" and financiers know the ACA will work well. They continue to contrive false claims, false dilemmas and logical fallacies to suit their notions. It is well past time for Republicans to pass the budget and try to do something useful for a change.

October 4, 2013 at 8:21 pm |

JoeyTx

Matt, Go back to school. Using the term "Gun to the head" is a metaphor. You might be too infantile to understand that. The more reason why the GOP wants to keep people ignorant, cut education funding so they can feed you this garbage or nothing.

Yes what a hero, reciting nursery rhymes and he could have worn a cape for effect during his 21 hours of fame. There are other places to cut the budget. John Boehner’s favorite lobbyist Lockheed Martin receives billions of American tax dollars every year through foreign aid packages that mandate purchase of arms from USA manufacturers. The world really doesn’t need more weapons in the hands of Mid-East countries. Lockheed could as well use the subsidy to develop space travel technology. Mixed up priorities because lobbyist run the show.

I Think S.E. Cupp needs to go work for Fox News With Elizabeth Hasslebeck...what she doing on CNN ? she isnt a conservative as she claims.....sounds more like a die hard republican to me....Bottom Line ? republicans in general are not just losing there credibility with alot of the american people in this country, but are also afraid Obamacare is going to work !!...ive never seen so much hatred by republicans torwards a president in my life.....

So you're not in favor of a balanced debate and just want to be fed a bunch of liberal talking points? There's no one on this Crossfire panel more extreme than Van Jones. If you want to attack anyone for being hardcore right or left, start with him.

There was just as much or more hatred from Democrats towards George W Bush, no?

October 4, 2013 at 10:52 am |

Tom

Hi, listen I'm sorry if im posting this in the wrong area, but I do know you's talk about it as well so...

OBAMACARE: wanna hear what the real problem is that IS NOT TALKED ABOUT? Familys like my own that have 5 kids 1 income and live in a state like NC! every 2 weeks I get paid about 700. My so called obamacare is going to cost me 300-450 a month! are you kidding me? I have rent Food gas you name it its there! and I have to come up with that much money? Not to mention everyone else in my house? ITS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!! again, people are only worrying if the RIch can afford it or not, and this whole 100-150 a person is BS maybe in a small number of states . I can say this, I will be a friggin rebel if i loose my home and anything else that comes from this horrific plan that wasnt thought out very well for the people who dont make thousands a month!

Low income families like yours will receive rates you can afford. There is a calculator up already if you would like to search and see what the premium will be. And as wrong as this sounds, maybe you should slow down on the baby making if you can't afford the kids you already have.

How dare you criticize someone for having children. Who do you think you are? Shame on you. The fact is that Obamacare is the biggest tax in US history and it's not being implemented because our president cares about individuals. Most Americans being effected by this are seeing triple the premiums, much higher deductibles and less coverage. In fact, there are 10 states where most people won't even be allowed to keep the plan they currently have even if they could afford it. Leading health insurance companies are pulling out of these states and won't offer plans in the exchange. How does it make sense and not to mention completely unconstitutional that the president can mandate and force the people to pay for something or be fined. Especially when for the majority, those kinds of expenses aren't feasible. Are they the ones that have to be sacrificed because our government has turned into a dictatorship? I can think of a few other "leaders" like that......
I absolutely regret voting for this man in the beginning. I certainly didn't the second time around. If we keep going down this path and America doesn't get its butt in gear, its going to become a third world country.

October 3, 2013 at 7:37 pm |

Scott

Tom, you are right about the fact that under the Affordable Care Act, your insurance for you, your wife and 5 kids will be expensive. You are wrong about why though. If North Carolina had expanded Medicaid, which your republican representatives DID NOT, you would have been covered for little or no cost. You need to take it up with your state representatives, not your national representatives or the President. They are the ones who decided not to expand medicaid, and therefore are the reason your premiums would be so high.

One of the provisions of Obamacare/ACA is your premiums can't be over a defined fraction of your income . I think it is 1.6 percent of your total income. Your data is flawed or incomplete so you can put away the Stars and Bars for yet a season.

Tom,
I don't think you've actually made it to the exchanges yet – because if that's all you earn with a family of five you actually fall under the poverty level – that means that if you live in a state that went ahead with the Medicaid expansion your family would be enrolled, and if not, you will either receive a 100% tax break on your premiums OR be exempt from the law.

Depends on if the state took the expanded Medicaid, or so I read.
Trouble is, how is someone supposed to pay the monthly fee, and wait a year to be reimbursed?

October 4, 2013 at 2:26 pm |

joyocooking

I feel bad that you are living in a state that really wants the poor to stay poor. In a state like New Mexico or even Kentucky, for example, which accepted the medicaid expansion, you and your children would qualify easily for medicaid. The red states that did not accept the medicaid expansion, the poor will be even more miserable.

How can you say the budget should not be tied to Obamacare? Obamacare is part of the federal budget. You can't consider a budget for the federal government without considering Obamacare as part of it. Congress needs to do its job and pass each department's budget individually. If they want to fight over Obamacare, let them fight over it without closing parks or dropping services to veterans.

Let me begin by saying ANYONE who thinks or say Ted Cruz is a hero is patently IGNORANT!! Here are the facts ALL over the country Republican legislatures are passing bills the Democrats (who are the minority in those states) dislike tremendously. But they are going to be the LAW of that state until the citizens in that state VOTE those Republicans out of office!!! THIS IS THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS IN A DEMOCRACY. What we have in the Congress NOW is a group of 30 very hard core Republicans that want to literally attempt to force an UNNATURAL order of things. Senator Ted Cruz is an individual with a HUGE ego that has found about 25% of the electorate that truly believe they can change rules that were developed over 200 years ago. You see the President now understands that when he compromised with the Republicans last time it was a BIG MISTAKE!! He was hoping that if he did show some flexibility last time, he would not have to go through it again. What the Congress is attempting to do is circumvent the system in a manner that is UNHEALTHY for the country as a whole. S.E. Cupp and all the other who are attempting to justify this action are looking for some type of short term win instead of having the maturity to look at it long term.
How would they reactive if the role was reversed and 30 democrats in a Democrats in a Democratically led house decided they would not allow a vote on the floor to raise the debt ceiling unless the Republican President agreed to raise the taxes on the richest Americans by 15%!!! You see you can not run a government this way. The President MUST hold firm..it is not about him, it is not about the Affordable Care Act, IT IS ABOUT HOW AMERICAS BUDGETARY DISAGREEMENTS WILL BE DEALT WITH IN THE FUTURE.

Pray tell.....WHEN has Obama ever compromised with Republicans (or anyone else for that matter) on anything? The reason for this shutdown is OBAMA himself. He is so damned bent on "MY WAY OR NO WAY!" His refusal to negotiate anything is the primary reason for this shutdown but hey, lets blame the republicans again....just like always. Plus, poor ignorant Americans are blindly flocking to believe the lying words coming out of his mouth. SO TIRED if everything being the Republicans fault. Democrats need to seriously look in the mirror. Wonder if the next Pres will still blame the CURRENT situation on Bush? Sheesh!

Karen – the Affordable Care Act was compromised legislation. There is no single payer option, insurance companies provide insurance. The 2014 budget submitted by the Senate was a compromise; the spending levels are closer to the Republican budget submitted by Ryan than the President's original budget. There are LOTS of other examples. I suggest you stop watching Fox news. Most of the USA understands what the Republicans are doing now is not negotiating and the Speaker of the House is thwarting the will of the majority (by not submitting a clean CR bill for a vote).

October 11, 2013 at 5:18 pm |

Jim N

No Ron. Its one thing to have a personal view. But criticizing Cruz or the republican party for doing their job that they are doing for you and me, is unjust. President we elected in my view has caused this shutdown by presenting a contaminated spending bill, and telling us that the only way to fix this now instantly is by congress signing a clean bill on his contaminated spending bill. Note that he admits the bill is contaminated but he says "Just sign it and we will work to clean it up later." ??? How about delaying the contaminated part, present a clean spending bill, everybody signs it, America moves on. He then gets to decontaminate this bill as he had previously delayed it then passes it through congress. Since all are in favor of his program this is very doable. In my view he is the only person with the solution in his hands. I believe asking congress to sidestep their duties to afford him illegitimate acceptations is unacceptable.

Nope, the President's actions are correct. The Senate submitted a budget MONTHS ago. The House took no budget action until it was too late for substantive negotiations. This was no accident; Republicans were sure the President would accept any deal to prevent a Government shut down and default. Republicans figured wrong. Republicans control the House but not the Senate or Executive. Republicans are at fault for not submitting to the will of the majority. That's the way a representative democracy works. I wonder if the Founding Fathers ever considered the possibility that "Rules for its Proceedings" would include not bringing a bill to the floor of the House despite a majority of House members being in favor of it. Thwarting the will of the majority is decidedly undemocratic. "Demagogues exploit the freedom secured under democracy to gain a level of power for themselves that overrides the rule of law, thereby undermining democracy" (Wikipedia).

October 11, 2013 at 5:00 pm |

Matt

Running the government is all about compromise in a divided government like we have at the federal level today. If the scenario you describe were playing out, I would expect Republicans to negotiate an agreement. Not "hold firm" as you say, refuse to come to the negotiating table, call Republicans terrorists and anarchists, and throw tantrums on TV to try to gain support. Obama and Reid could offer the Republicans a small olive branch and end the shutdown today. The Republicans are asking for 2 things that are supported by the majority of the American people (eliminate Congressional exemptions and make Obamacare optional for individuals for one more year to work out the kinks). They aren't demanding that it be completely defunded or eliminated. Many of them want to get rid of Obamacare, but that's not what they are demanding. Obama and Reid are on the wrong side of the American people on this issue.

You all must be from Colorado......your smoking too much of that wacky weed because you think OBummer is the king. ACA was jammed down our throats without discussion. You think your king really cares about you. He cares about the history books and sadly when its over it will not be pretty. All the Republicans want is for a chance to make sure ACA is really good for the country. Poor people have been taken care of for years. And it's not all the poorer peoples faults for being this way. If they had jobs it would be easier but seems like the Democratic Party likes to put on a good show but they only look out for themselves. Look at the top Dems, need I say more. I have been at the food lines handing out meals I know how it is. For the Democrats to demonize the Republicans is just plain evil. Republicans at least the Conservative side cares for the people of this country and what we stand for is what our forefathers had the foresight of documenting. Were all those mean perfect, no, but as a whole they put together the greatest document ever. And we don't need someone in the house trying to defeat it. That is unAmerican!

October 4, 2013 at 4:33 pm |

Max Willcart

This is all very encouraging for the Democrats. The Republicans/GOP/TEA Party clearly want to be out of executive power for the next 8 to 12 years. Keep on going Republicans – the Dems are loving it – you have fallen into what I would call a classic ruse, and fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

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